4th of July, Walla Wallas, Pirates, Candy, Etc.

I had the opportunity to take approximately a gazillion pictures this weekend.  So many that it's taken me 2 days of work to sort them out.  First, there was the awesome summery-ness going on at the fruit market.  Walla wallas are here!  One of the most popular posts ever on this site is How to Store Onions.



There is no better sign than this one.  I dare you to prove me wrong, and I don't think you will.



So of course we went to the Bothell Parade on Saturday.  My main goal was to take some shots of the YFM float. However, I was also a participant in the parade and was stuck waiting in a queue instead of relaxing in a plastic lawn chair.  I searched, but never found, the fruit market float. :(

My kids did get tasked with throwing candy, so they were not disappointed.  We walked with Dale's mom, Diane Brennan, who is running for Kenmore City Council.  This is not a political blog and I don't do endorsements, but hey - she's Dale's mom! And when lost in a parade, she showed the good sense to ask the nearest firefighter. "The parade is that way!" (She's in the blue top.)



There were a lot of you at the parade this year. The Seafair pirates made fun of my camera. They said their cannon was bigger than my Canon. Ha ha ha.



The evening was celebrated with good food, friends and fireworks. Hope yours was the same!



More pics on my flickr page - YakimaFruitBlogger on Flickr.


Follow me on Twitter!

What's Cooking for Tomorrow?

There's a lot of work to be done prepping food for tomorrow's shindig! In case you're struggling for ideas, here's what we are planning.

-Fruit salad - cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes, blueberries, and temptation melon.

-Pistachio salad - my very artificial and unhealthy favorite. Essentially this recipe, but I add chopped nuts and cream cheese.

-Fresh Potato Salad. Recipe here. No other potato salad compares, according to Dale.

-Steak! With "10 Clove Garlic Marinade" off of allrecipes.com.  For some reason the site isn't coming up.  I wonder if it's my computer, or it's just overloaded with people searching for 4th of July recipes?

- Fresh bread.  (Best all around white bread recipe I've found. I've made this without fail many, many times.)

- "Bacon-wrapped Jalapeno Thingies" a la Pioneer Woman.  These look dangerous.

- No-Bake Cheesecake Bars by Mark Bitman. This is such a refreshing version of cheesecake, combining ricotta, cream cheese, and a touch of lemon rind with fresh blueberries. I'll throw some raspberries on too, to get the RED in the red, white and blue.

I love the 4th!

Staying Cooooool

It's almost the 4th of July! Remember last year?  I can't wait to see the fruit market's float for this year.  I'll be bringing the kids to the Bothell parade again this year.  Be smart and plan ahead - set out your chairs the night before.  Info on the parade here.

In the meantime, it appears we're having another bout of heat.  The fruit market is a great place to stay cool.. not to mention, just walking in there ups your personal coolness factor.

Of course, ice will cool you down, too.  Underneath this particular ice pile you will find some beautiful local english peas! $1.99/lb.  These have short season, so get them soon.



Another way to cool down is to do as cabbage do.  Hang out at the wet rack and enjoy the mist.  Wear a gorilla costume if you're feeling funky.



At some point in this post, you know I am going to say "cool as a cucumber". 



And I apologize for the quality of that last picture; I included it anyhow because I know there's a lot of you who get very excited when the pickling cukes start arriving.  It's still very early, but consider this your warning: it's getting closer to pickling time!!!

In case you're like Dale, who doesn't think it's hot unless it hits 100, this one's for you:



Stay cool, and stay tuned for more pictures of the famous fruit market float and Bothell parade!


Follow me on Twitter!

Welcome Back!

WELCOME BACK BRIDGET!!




And welcome back to me, too! I'm so happy to get back in to my normal routine. Just so you know, I was cheering on the local strawberry season in spirit over the last two weeks, if not in pictures.  Anyhow, strawberries are just about over; I hope you carried on without my help.  I'm sure you did.

Did you make jam? 



Tonight Dale sent me to the market (our first market trip for our new house!) and here's what was on his list.  Strawberries (of course), and Yakima green beans.



And cherries.  Here's a side by side, bing to the left - old reliable!  And a new variety of rainier to the right.  I did a double take; this is not the yellowish red rainier I'm used to. 



You people ate a WHOLE LOT OF CORN today!!! 



I got everything on my list, and then headed to the nursery to do a bit of impulse buying.  I figured these baskets were a great deal, so I bought two.  New houses must have new hanging baskets, right?



And how cool is this thing?  It's like a flowering vine tree. Sits about hip-high.  Dale brought one home earlier in the week.



This is the best part of the season - right now! Peaches, 'cots, and nectarines are all 1.99.  Walla walla sweets are in, pickling cukes are starting as well. LOCAL RASPBERRIES came in today, too!!

Stay up to date on all the newest arrivals: SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG.  Also, for you folks on Twitter, follow me @darbyalycen!

Hello, Stranger!

No one told me painting almost every room in the new house would be such a big job.  No one laughed when I said "we'll paint this weekend and move in next weekend!"  (They're laughing now...)

I apologize for the lack of market updates this week. We are making progress on our massive painting project and hopefully things will start getting back to normal later next week.  Until then, I hope you are enjoying the awesome LOCAL STRAWBERRIES and CHERRIES!  They've been nice little treats for us in the midst of all the chaos.